Author: Nick Falvo

I was recently invited to give a presentation at a two-day event discussing the overdose crisis and First Nations, with a focus on southern Alberta. My presentation (slide deck available here) focused on homelessness, substance use, harm reduction and Housing First. With this in mind, here are 10 things to know: Indigenous peoples…Read more

The Scott Moe government boasts that Saskatchewan’s a low-tax province. It shouldn’t. Taxes serve important objectives, and our leaders need to understand that. On March 20, the Saskatchewan government tabled its 2019-20 provincial budget, projecting a balanced budget for the upcoming year. In many ways that’s quite remarkable, with Saskatchewan’s…Read more

On November 16, I participated in a workshop organized by the Alberta Alternative Budget Working Group. Held at the University of Alberta’s main campus, speakers discussed macroeconomic, health care and social policy considerations for the next Alberta budget. Here are 10 things to know: 1) Alberta’s still recovering from a…Read more

Carey Doberstein, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, has written a book about homelessness governance in Canada. The book’s focus is on the way homelessness funding is targeted and allocated in three cities: Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. It focuses on the 1995-2015 period. Here are 10…Read more

On April 10, the Saskatchewan government tabled its 2018-19 budget. Here are 10 things to know: This year’s budget was quite status quo. Provincial expenses for the upcoming fiscal year are forecast at $14.6 billion, while total spending on health will see a 2.5% increase. Revenue forecast for 2018-19 is…Read more

A federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) framework agreement on housing was signed on April 10 in Toronto. It supports the Trudeau government’s National Housing Strategy, which was released last fall. Here are 10 things to know about the just-signed agreement: Though a National Housing Strategy (NHS) was released last fall, a federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) framework agreement…Read more

Alberta’s 2018 budget was tabled on March 22, 2018. The official name of this year’s budget is Budget 2018: A recovery built to last. Here are five things to know: This was largely a status quo budget. Total estimated provincial revenue for 2018-19 is $47.9 billion, compared with $46.9 billion in…Read more

Alberta is the only Canadian province without a sales tax. That needs to change. With its own sales tax, Alberta could afford to make important new investments in social programs. For example, it could hire more teachers, improve staffing levels in long-term care facilities and build more affordable housing. Without…Read more

On March 8, I gave a guest presentation to students in Professor Naomi Lightman’s Sociology of Work class at the University of Calgary. I was joined by Alexander Kulakov and Amit Nade, employment coaches at the Mustard Seed. My PowerPoint slides can be downloaded here. Here are 10 things to know about homelessness…Read more